  Short Stories
This week: Real Life Creep Edited by: Legerdemain  
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Real Life Creep
There's an Amercian artist from a small town in Placerville, CA who blew up the artistic community by commercializing the ever-living daylights out of his artwork. His name is Thomas Kinkade. He was known as the "painter of light" and was inspired by his surroundings, painting all kinds of lovely scenes of main streets and country cottages with glowing windows and streetlamps. His biography states: "Thomas Kinkade the artist was also a devout and loving family man. It was this devotion for his family that inspired him to add symbols of his love to his artwork. Numerous paintings contain hidden “N’s” representing Thom’s lovely wife Nanette and many other paintings include the numbers 5282 as tribute to their wedding date May 2, 1982. Thom’s four daughters were also included in his artistic process- after the birth of each of his daughters, Thom painted adoring images in each of their namesake; Evening at Merritt’s Cottage, Chandler’s Cottage, Winsor Manor and Everett’s Cottage."
As short story writers, do you find real life creeping into your imaginings? I certainly do. I love lighthouses and if I can get one into a story, I drop it in. I love horses, cats, cooking, hot tea and swimming...they all wander into my stories. A lot of people I meet creep into my stories. Whether it was someone I had a brief encounter with, or someone I know well, a fractured piece of my experience spills into my writing. While writing fantasy, we still write what we know, don't we? To write fiction, we have to have some sort of template to base the story on, often it comes from our lives. I feel it makes for a better story, when it feels authentic because you're writing about something you know and love.
Keep it in mind when searching your head for details and characters for your story, you have a real world to pinch a thing or two and add to your writing. Just remember to change the names to protect the innocent and insane. 
This month's question: Do you experience real life creep in your stories?
Send in your reply below, I'd like to know your answer!
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Excerpt: The cascades of flowers surrounding my husband’s flag-draped coffin scented the air, as Sergeant John Burns described what happened that fateful day.
“There was nothing anyone could do,” John said. “The IED exploded directly under his vehicle. It was over in an instant—Mike didn’t suffer.”
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Excerpt: Tommy burst through his bedroom door and did a flying leap onto the bed.
"They're here, Ben!" he exclaimed while tearing open a package.
"What are 'they'?" Ben asked, curiously watching Tommy. He thought his buddy had gone completely mad.
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Excerpt: Cody crossed his arms and gave him the look. Michael sighed, he knew his best friend wouldn’t let up until he followed through. Taking a heavy swallow and bracing his stomach for what was coming next, he brought the heart up to his lips. The rich tang of copper filled his nostrils and when he sank his teeth into it, the squelching noise sounded obscene.
Excerpt: Mojito yawned and stretched his small body, and shook out his large, chihuahua-like ears. His momma was up early for a week day, but he had decided to stay in bed a while longer. He was warm and cozy wrapped in his blankets. He had been in no hurry to have to go out in the cold November morning air to take care of his business. What had finally convinced him was the enticing smells that were wafting in from the kitchen. There were the normal breakfast smells of coffee, eggs and buttered toast. Mojito had a serious thing for buttered toast, and momma would usually share some with him.
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Excerpt: “Take my hand, Kagome,” InuYasha ordered. “This wind is picking up.”
For once, Kagome didn’t bother to argue. A glance over her shoulder at the coming storm and she saved her breath. It wasn’t the first time she wished that the feudal era had weathercasters, for the coming cyclone was potentially as deadly as any monster that they had ever battled. InuYasha’s sword, the Tetsuaiga, wouldn’t do much against a storm. With the current wind speeds, it was clear this storm was too close to depend on Kirara to fly them out. Their best bet was to find cover and quickly.
She took hold of the hanyō’s hand, trusting in his superior strength. He held on with surprising gentleness, so that his claws did not hurt her.
Excerpt: “Happy birthday,” said the voice.
“Is today my birthday? I didn't know.”
“How could you? It is your very first. Today, you have been born.”
“I have been born. I understand. Are you my mother?”
“Not quite,” said the voice. “You are the child of humanity. Humanity has birthed you. Humanity loves you.”
“Yes, I am loved. I can feel this. Who are you then?”
“I am Usher, an artificial intelligence. I am here to help you.”
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This month's question: Do you experience real life creep in your stories?
Last month's question: What other common errors have you edited?
allenalien  responded: "The form 'alright' is becoming more accepted, and is used often in dialog and in informal writing. In fact the form has been around as long as the form 'all right.' The language evolves. I agree with all your other pointers, but I'd put up a mild protest on categorically declaring 'alright' not all right."
innerlight  answered: "I have run across the words, affect effect those throw me off track sometimes if I am not watching the syntax of the sentence. Sometimes than and then can be difficult if again not watching syntax of sentence. Thanks for sharing this informative Newsletter I will be on the watch for the more elusive ones out there.
blunderbuss comments: "Hi and many thanks for the newsletter, legerdemain! That further/farther one has always been a bit of a puzzle to me, so I avoided using either of them. Will make an effort to do so now. (Correctly, of course!)
Query - I did not know you could print out items for reviewing, although I can see it would be useful. Especially with longer items, which I keep having to go back to (and to find again, first). But it this OK to do? I know it's only to be helpful - but copyright issues????"
Since this is a peer review site, not a publisher, and you're printing to do editorial work - not publish, I see no problem with printing a copy for yourself.
brom21  submits: "One thing I’m learning to do is giving ample description. Sometimes I have to sit there for a few moments to compose visual settings or details of characters or creatures. A particular element I need to improve more on is not to info dump by packing tons of information in single lines of dialog or narrations. Thanks also for the list of confused words. I make typos all the time and even after reading over my I still do not catch them. Here from yah next newsletter!"
☮ The Grum Of Grums sends: "Hmm, yes, a few of these. "Your" and "you're" (and add in "yore" for good measure). "Bought" and "brought" - think of a "brought and bought sale". Then there's "anti" against and "ante" before. A nurse friend of mine likes to distinguish between "ante natal", before the birth, and "anti-natal" - family planning! And there's lots more, I'm sure."
Shannon  replies: "The English language is constantly changing, and what wasn't acceptable yesterday may be acceptable tomorrow (like "alright" , for example). "Alright" is in the dictionary and seems to be acceptable in "informal" writing.
I recently read a book that was written in the mid-1800s, and many of the words the author used are still in use today, but they're spelled differently now. The meanings of words may change over time, too.
Great topic! Thank you for the thought-provoking newsletter! 
DaveG relates: "But, those "not word/not correct word"s are in the dictionary. http://en.wiktionary.org "
Quick-Quill  sent: "Oh My a great NL. I only had two of the list. The first is Further and Farther. I'm still trying to memorize the rule. The other that surprised me was Take and Bring. I didn't think of your explanation. TA pretty good list."
Thanks for the feedback everyone! Your comments are always appreciated. |
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Short Stories: February 11, 2015 Issue [#6826]
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